Six New Art Books to Read This Spring

Six recently published books explore art and visual culture through biographies, essays, and visual narratives. Bernard Marcadé's updated biography "Marcel Duchamp. La vita a credito" (Johan & Levi Editore, 2025, €20) examines Duchamp's life as his ultimate readymade. Andrea Rabbito's "Pictorial Trump. Il ruolo politico delle nuove immagini" (Mimesis Edizioni, 2025, €14) analyzes Trump's use of imagery through a "pictorial turn" lens, with an introduction by Ruggero Eugeni and postface by Roberto Revello. Gennaro Ascione's "Napoli balla. Dancefloor e sottoculture nella città postcoloniale" (Tamu Edizioni, 2025, €18) traces Naples' underground dance cultures from the 1970s to contemporary raves, featuring figures like Pino Daniele, Almamegretta, and Liberato. Renato Barilli's "L'arte in presa diretta. Cronache dall'Unità 2000-2020" (Postmedia books, 2025, €16) collects two decades of his art criticism for the newspaper l'Unità, organized alphabetically by artist. Elena Pontiggia's "Espressionismo italiano" (Silvana Editoriale, 2025, €32) accompanies an exhibition of 126 works from the Iannaccone collection and Musei Civici di Roma, covering Italian Expressionism from the 1920s to 1940s, featuring Scipione, Birolli, and Carlo Levi. Giovanni Agosti's "La Gae" (Electa, 2025, €105) is a hybrid monograph on architect Gae Aulenti, stemming from a 2024-2025 exhibition at Triennale Milano, documenting over 800 projects across 880 pages.